It has long been shown that a mother's breast milk is a unique source of nutrition for infants that cannot adequately be replaced by any other source, including infant formula. While infant formula is able to mimic some of the nutritional components of a mother's breast milk, it cannot adequately duplicate the ever-changing range and balance of nutrients important to a child's health that is present in breast milk. Numerous studies show that breast milk provides superior benefits in terms of infant health, immunity, growth, and development. Breastfeeding also provides health benefits to a mother, including a reduction in the likelihood of developing osteoporosis, help with losing the weight that accompanies pregnancy, and a lower risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding also has economic advantages because it is cheaper than buying formula. Perhaps most importantly, breastfeeding provides a unique opportunity for a mother to grow both emotionally and physically from the relationship formed with her baby. The act of breastfeeding is an intimate and personal experience for mother and child, which helps to promote a natural bond, resulting in a stronger sense of connection between mother and child. It is thus apparent why many people desire to breastfeed their children.
However, while breastfeeding can be very advantageous to both child and mother as compared to bottle-feeding, many mothers choose not to breastfeed their children. One reason for this may be the inconvenience of frequently breastfeeding an infant in public where access to privacy is unavailable. Frequently, a mother must nurse at times and in places where she cannot easily, or does not wish to, locate a secluded area to nurse. This can lead to uncomfortableness for the mother, since it is difficult for a mother to conceal or cover the exposed breast while nursing an infant. There have been items and garments proposed to allow an infant to nurse while concealing the mother's upper body; however, there are several limitations associated with these items, including that they are often inadequate, bulky, uncomfortable, awkward to use, unsafe, or difficult to handle.
To address the issue of having to expose all or part of her breast and upper portions of her torso in public or in high-traffic areas, some mothers use conventional solutions such as covering the exposed areas with towels, sheets, blankets, or the like. However, there are many drawbacks associated with draping such a covering over oneself when nursing. When draping a covering a material over oneself to protect the exposed breast, the covering also inevitably drapes over the nursing infant. This covering may not provide adequate ventilation of the air around the child, posing a risk of asphyxiation or overheating. Furthermore, the covering is not secured in place and could slip, revealing the mother's breast and disturbing the mother and child's privacy. For this reason, a mother is often preoccupied with holding the covering in place, which could prove difficult if the child is moving. Yet another concern is that covering the child's face with a cover in this way obstructs the view of the child to the mother and the mother to the child. A proper view is necessary in order to help the infant properly latch on to the breast, and also to encourage the bonding experience between mother and child.
Other proposed solutions are the use of nursing garments that are primarily articles of clothing that allow a mother to nurse while keeping her breasts substantially covered. However, such articles of clothing do not allow the mother the choice and flexibility of wearing a conventional selection of clothing. Some garments of this sort furthermore do not conceal the breast and nursing child sufficiently during nursing. They have the further disadvantage of requiring mothers to purchase more than one nursing garment.
There are also conventional nursing canopies available. These canopies are worn over a mother's clothing and cover the mother's upper torso in the front and over the arms. Such canopies allow the mother to handle the infant with both hands while concealing the mother's breasts and the nursing infant from public view. However, conventional canopies typically have necklines which sag downward against the upper chest or neck of the user. This sagging neckline obstructs the intimate view of the infant and the mother, thus preventing the mother from readily viewing and monitoring the nursing infant. In order to allow the infant to latch on to the mother's breast and to properly position the infant during nursing, the mother would have to use one or both hands to lift the neckline of the canopy outward and away from her body, while also holding the infant and monitoring the infant. A further problem with conventional nursing canopies is that the material of the nursing canopy drapes over the head and face of the infant trying to nurse, which can be distracting for the child, causing them to refuse to nurse. Additionally, the material of the canopy resting so close to the child and the mother prevents proper flow of air and circulation beneath the canopy, which increases the body temperature of the mother and child, resulting in very difficult and uncomfortable breastfeeding.